Roving can



Jani13, 1970 E. c. eooowm, JR., ET AL 3,489,473

ROVING CAN Original Filed Nov. 16, 1966 v f 8 PEG I FIG 2 United States Patent U.S. Cl. 312--71 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A textile roving can comprising a cylindrical can body, a roving can top slideable within said body, a plurality of relatively narrow strips extending across the interior of said body adjacent one end thereof, each said strip having an outer portion, connected to said body adjacent said one end thereof and extending transversely inwardly from said body adjacent said one end thereof, each said strip having another portion extending transversely of said body at a greater distance from said one end than said outer portion thereof and connected at its inner end to the other strips, a coil spring having one end sup ported by said outer portions of said strips and having its other end in engagement with said can top whereby the greater part of the cross-sectional area of said can adjacent said one end thereof is open and unobstructed.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 594,722, filed Nov. 16, 1966, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to textile roving cans and more particularly to an improved bottom construction for such textile roving cans.

In such cans for containing roving or sliver (herein for convenience called roving cans) the overall height of the can is a critical dimension as the can must fit into the apparatus by which it is filled in proper relationship to the apparatus. It is also important that the roving can have as much capacity as possible, within a given height.

In roving cans of the type having a top, slideable within the can body and urged upwardly by a spring, on which the sliver is supported, it sometimes happens that the spring when the can is in use kicks over to one side, causing tilting of the can top which then fails to properly cooperate with the coiler head when the can is being filled. Another problem encountered with such can is the tendency of lint to be released from the roving or sliver and to collect in the bottom of the can, interfering with the operation.

In some cases, particularly with roving cans of the spring type, the filled can is so heavy that it is desirable to provide it with casters on its bottom to facilitate moving it about in the mill as required. Such casters would normally form a part of the overall height of the can and consequently reduce its capacity.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved textile roving can in which the foregoing difficulties are substantially reduced or eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roving can having casters on its bottom which is so designed that the casters do not reduce the overall capacity of the can.

Another object of the invention is to provide a textile roving can having a bottom construction accommodating casters without reduction of the capacity of the can and also serving to retain the spring in its proper position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a textile sliver can having a bottom construction which allows any lint which may be formed in the can to be discharged from the can so that the can is self-cleaning.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away to show the bottom construction;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed sectional view to an enlarged scale, partly broken away.

The invention provides a textile roving can having a cylindrical side wall forming the can body, a can top slideable inside said side wall, to support roving or sliver contained in the can, and a can bottom arranged and disposed to have outer portions thereof secured to said side wall adjacent the bottom end thereof and extending transversely inwardly of the side Wall adjacent said end and having other portions extending transversely of said side wall, preferably centrally thereof, at a greater distance from the said bottom end than said outer portions, and also having longitudinally extending portions disposed generally longitudinally of the side wall and interconnecting the outer portions and the other portions, together with a coil spring having its lower end supported by the can bottom and having its upper end in engagement with the can top to urge the top upwardly within the can. When desired, casters may be mounted on said other portions to extend downwardly and outwardly of the adjacent end of the side wall to engage a supporting surface on which the can is to be moved. Preferably, three or more of such casters are employed. Preferably, the longitudinally extending portions of the bottom are disposed radially inwardly of the adjacent can wall so as to provide space therebetween for the accommodation of the spring and of the skirt of the can top, if one or both is present. Preferably, the spring is of such diameter that it may rest on the can bottom so as to be supported by the outer portions of the bottom. Preferably, the greater part of the cross-sectional area of the can adjacent its bottom end is open and unobstructed by the can bottom, whereby lint from roving or sliver contained in the can may fall out of the can through the bottom.

Referring now to the drawing, the roving can of the illustrative embodiment includes a cylindrical side wall 2 which may be formed from any suitable material, for example, a hard vulcanized fiber. The can body may include a kick band 4 closely surrounding the side wall 2 at its lower end to reinforce the side wall at this point and protect it from damage by blows from an operators foot in moving it about. The roving can is provided with a so-called can top comprising a flat plate 6 having a skirt 8 of cylindrical form depending from its periphery and of a diameter to slide freely upwardly and downwardly within the can side wall 2. In some can constructions the skirt 8 is omitted and the present invention is equally applicable to both types.

A coil spring 10 is provided inside the can body 2 having its lower end resting on the can bottom and extending upwardly to have its uppermost coil 12 engaged with the lower surface of the plate 6. The spring is designed to urge the plate 6 upwardly to support roving 13 filled into the can.

The can bottom is formed from three metal strips 14, 16 and 18 joined together at their inner ends as appears in FIG. 2. Each strip includes a transversely extending portion 20 extending horizontally crosswise centrally of the can. Each strip further includes an outer portion 22 extending transversely of the can inwardly from the side wall 2 adjacent its bottom end as appears in FIG. 3. The outer portions 22 are secured to the side wall 2 adjacent its lower end, in this instance by a downwardly turned portion 24 thereof through which is passed a rivet 26. The side wall 2 may be and usually is provided with a metal rim 28. In the embodiments shown the rim 28 also includes a reinforcing flange 30 to give additional stiffness to the bottom of the can, but such flange is an optional feature and no part of the present invention.

The transverse central portions 20 and the outer portions 22 of each strip 14, 16 and 18 are joined to each other by the longitudinal portions 32, extending longitudinally of the can body 2. It will be seen that the greater part of the cross-sectional area of the can body 2 at the bottom is clear and unobstructed by the strips 14, 16 and 18 whereby any lint in the can may freely fall out through the bottom, making the can self-cleaning.

The longitudinally extending portions 32 are spaced radially inwardly of the side wall 2 so that they leave a space between themselves and the side wall for the reception of the skirt 8 when the can top is moved into its lowermost position. This space also accommodates the coil spring and the longitudinal portions 32 further serve to retain the spring in the desired central position so that it cannot kick sideways and it need not be tied down, or other special provision made for retaining the spring.

When casters are desired, the casters, such as casters 34, may be mounted on the outside lower surface of the central portions 20 by any suitable fasteners, such as the nuts and bolts 36. The parts will be so proportioned that the caster extends slightly beyond the bottom edge of the can body 2 to make engagement with a supporting surface on which the roving can rests. Due to the crosssectional shape of the can bottom of the invention, the casters do not add to the overall height of the can or reduce its capacity to any significant extent, as they need extend beyond the bottom of the can body 2 only a trifling distance. When the can is filled with silver and the top 6 has moved downwardly to its lowest position, it can move downwardly in the can of the present invention to the same extent as it could without the presence of th casters inasmuch as vertical space must be left in any case within the can for the accommodation of the spring 10 when compressed and for the skirt 8 if one is present. Such space requirement of spring or skirt is sufficient to take care of the required overall height of the casters, so that the presence of the casters does not reduce the capacity of the can of a given overall height.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the invention has provided an improved textile roving or sliver can which may if desired be provided with casters without substantially changing the overall height of the can and without reducing the capacity of the can for a given overall height. At the same time, the can bottom construction of 4 the invention provides valuable spring retaining features and provides a can which is self-cleaning as well.

We claim:

1. For use in a textile roving can having, a cylindrical can body open at the top, a roving can top slidable within said body, a coil spring within said roving can having its uppermost coil engaging a lower surface of the roving can top for raising same when material deposited therein is removed and permitting same to lower as material is deposited therein, the improvement including:

(A) a plurality of relatively narrow strips extending across the interior of said body adjacent a lower end thereof;

(B) an outer portion of each said strip carried by said body adjacent the lower end thereof and extending transversely inwardly from said body adjacent the lower end thereof;

(C) another portion of each said strip extending transversely of said body at a greater distance from said one end than said outer portion thereof;

(D) each said strip being mounted in engagement with another strip at inner ends of said strips for providing support for inner ends of each strip by another strip;

(E) a portion of each said strip disposed generally longitudinally of said body and interconnecting said outer portion and said another portion of the strip; and

(F) said strips and said lower end of the body defining an open and unobstructed cross-sectional area so that lint from roving contained in said roving can may fall out of said can;

whereby said stripsnpositively position said coil spring within the roving can accommodating said coil spring so as to conserve space when the roving can top is in its lowermost position due to material deposited in the can, while permitting lint to freely fall out of the can.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 973,029 10/1910 Fros 28079.2 1,106,877 8/1914 Kaiser 280-792 2,920,902 1/ 1960 Scott 28079.2 2,932,528 4/1960 Miller et al 28079.2 3,302,955 2/1967 Witzgall 28079.2

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner J. E. SIEGEL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

